England star John Bateman feared a moment of madness could wipe out his entire World Cup - but now he’s ready to repent.
The gutted Wigan second-row misses Saturday’s big opener against Samoa. He copped a three-game ban for his wild high tackle on Aidan Sezer in Warriors’ Super League semi-final loss against Leeds. But given how hard the RFL have clamped down on such challenges, Bateman - red carded on the night - was concerned he wouldn’t play again this year.
He conceded: “You do think the worst-case scenario straight away. I was pretty worried to find out what I was going to get. When I discovered it was three to five games, I just had to accept it. There was nothing I could do. I just had to hold my hand up.
